He did not behave like a king.
That was the first thing I noticed on the first morning of the time I had given him. He moved through the Ashdale pack house with the careful awareness of a man who understood he was a guest and had decided to behave accordingly, which in practice meant he did not arrange himself at the head of any table, did not give instructions to pack wolves who were not his, did not use the particular quality of stillness that powerful men use to remind a room of their power.
He ate with the pack. He cleared his own plate. He was quiet unless spoken to, and when he spoke, he was direct and not charming, which I found, against my expectations, more r
More reassuring than charm would have been.
The Ashdale wolves noticed. I noticed them noticing.
Mid-morning, he foun
